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Impermissible to Celebrate ‘Shab e Barat’

Question

Assalam alaikum, someone told me that if in our family someonerecently dies, we shouldn't do the rituals of shab e barat. Is it true or just a myth.Please reply.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

The celebration of the so-called ‘Shab e Barat’ is absolutely not permissible, whether you intended to celebrate and glorify the night of the middle of Sha'baan or otherwise, and whether you had a deceased person or not, because celebrating it is among the newly invented innovations, which were neither reported from the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) nor his companions. Indeed, the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “Whoever introduces into this matter of ours (Islam) that which is not part of it, it will be rejected." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Another narration reads: “Whoever does an act that is not in conformity with ours (Islam), it will be rejected.” [End of quote]

Imam An-Nawawi  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him said: “This Hadeeth is one of the great principles of Islam, and it is one of the eloquent and succinct speeches of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ); it is an explicit statement about rejecting all (religious) innovations [..] This Hadeeth should be memorized and used in abolishing evil and should be made known to people to use it to refute evil and abolish it.” [End of quote]

Allah knows best.

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